In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sums up key industry updates on ad tech from around the Asia-Pacific region – and in this edition: SEA mobile video programmatic climbs 20%; Outbrain & OMD ink partnership in Australia; India's Komli spins out mobile ad tech firm; and Xaxis pledges 100% viewability for APAC markets.

SEA mobile video programmatic climbs 20%

Mobile video programmatic inventory increased 20% across four Southeast Asian markets in the second quarter this year, amid efforts by advertisers to reach consumers on mobile devices.

Available programmatic auction volumes grew in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with desktop pre-roll video inventory maintaining growth in the quarter, said TubeMogul, citing data from digital video campaigns deployed on its platform.

It noted "improved quality" in mobile inventory, as well as higher advertiser interest in buying programmatic mobile video inventory.

"The data reflects an evolution in buying attitudes where advertisers are now planning their media buys holistically across desktop and mobile screens,” said TubeMogul's Asia vice president Susan Salop. "We are witnessing a shift by advertisers in Southeast Asia to diversify their video campaigns and reach audiences whenever, and wherever, they access video content."

She added that advertisers were beginning to realise video completion rates on mobile devices were higher due to stronger user engagement and now assessing engagement metrics that mobile video could deliver.

TubeMogul's Asia vice president Susan Salop

Salop also noted that the quality of programmatic mobile video inventory had improved, resulting in more stable price-points compared to previous quarters that saw fluctuations. TubeMogul assessed performance based on viewability, viewable completion, completion, and click rates.

Available pre-roll desktop video inventory grew in all four Southeast Asian markets over the same quarter last year, with Indonesia clocking a 17-fold growth and Singapore an eightfold growth.

Salop said: "We have moved past the question of whether there is enough scale and inventory in Southeast Asia for brands and agencies to buy digital video programmatically. The data shows advertisers who want to plan and optimise their video advertising media buys across screens can do it today."

Outbrain & OMD inks partnership agreement in Australia

OMD has signed a partnership deal with Outbrain, giving it access to technology that the media agency says will boost its content marketing offerings.

Jez Clark, head of OMD Fuse Sydney, said: "Outbrain's unique 'Interest Graph' gives us great insights into the content that Australians are consuming. We can use this to understand content gaps that exist online, and cater to digital content supply and demand."

Clark added that Outbrain's scale in content distribution as well as the ability to connect its distribution technology to OMD's trading desk and DSP will enable the media agency to manage, "an end-to-end digital journey that starts with creation of content, all the way to acquisition".

Outbrain's content marketing platform deploys digital content directly from online publisher sites to Australian audiences across desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. Its publisher partner network in the country includes Fairfax Media, News Corp, Yahoo7, and The Guardian.

India's Komli spins out mobile ad tech firm

The Indian ad tech vendor has created a new entity that focuses on building user engagement on mobile platforms.

Called RevX, the spinoff was launched with USD$4m in funding and a clientele of more than 30, Komli Media said, adding that the funds were from its current investors that include Nexus and Peepul Capital.

The new company is led by CEO Mukesh Agarwal, who is responsible for business strategy, product, and technology development, and COO Ruksh Chatterji, who manages overall business operations.

RevX said it was focused on helping mobile businesses grow user engagement and revenue through its data-driven, predictive advertising software, providing insights into consumer behaviour.

"Marketers are spending a lot of money on driving mobile app installs, but user engagement and retention continues to remain a major challenge," Mukesh noted. "An average consumer can have only so many apps on their smartphones, and marketers run the risk of high churn if they don't reinforce the value of their app post-install and build the engagement. Our goal is to offer innovative products to help marketers solve the user retention and engagement problem."

The ad tech vendor is looking to stand out from the competition with its pledge to offer "a fully transparent" advertising software with self-serve features, alongside more traditional managed services. Ruksh added: "We believe the arbitrage game played by our competitors is going to be short-lived, as marketers seek greater transparency in terms of where their money is being spent, at what price media is actually being bought, and the business outcomes such campaigns are delivering."

Xaxis pledges 100% viewability for APAC markets

The programmatic platform has launched its Xaxis Viewpoint in seven Asia-Pacific markets, which guarantees advertisers 100% viewability.

According to Xaxis, the new offering is be available in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Marketers will only be charged for ads that are viewable based on the Media Rating Council (MRC) and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standard.

This guideline specifies that ads are considered viewable if 50% of their pixels are in view for at least one second for desktop displays, and 50% for two seconds for desktop videos. Custom ad units and core elements of sponsorships are not currently consistently measurable.

Xaxis Viewpoint offers advertisers access to inventory that includes publishers such as Microsoft.